Nurse who raped unconscious patients jailed for 18 years

Former A&E nurse pleaded guilty to all charges, with some victims aged as young as 10

Ellis Barker

ellis.barker@newburynews.co.uk

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A nurse who raped unconscious patients in an accident and emergency department at an Oxford hospital has been jailed for 18 years.

Andrew Hutchinson, aged 29 and of Garford, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire, pleaded guilty to guilty to 27 counts, including rape, voyeurism, sexual assault, making indecent photographs of children, causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, assault by penetration and outraging public decency when he appeared at Oxford Crown Court last month.

He was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment at the Crown Court on Monday (April 27), and was dealt a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for an indefinite period. He will be on licence for 25 years following his prison sentence.

The incidents took place between October 2011 and December 2014, with his victims aged from 10 to 35, and occurred at locations including John Radcliffe Hospital emergency department, White Horse Leisure Centre, Abingdon, residential addresses near Abingdon and in the medical tent at Wilderness Festival.

He also pleaded guilty to theft of medical equipment from the John Radcliffe Hospital in November 2013 and theft/possession of class B drug Ketamine which was found in his possession on December 4 last year.

Hutchinson was arrested by Thames Valley Police on suspicion of voyeurism offences at the White Horse Leisure Centre, Abingdon, in November 2013 and was charged initially on 5 December, 2014.

He was charged with further offences on 30 January, 2015. Restrictions, removed on March 30, prevented the media from reporting on the charges.

At the time of his arrest Hutchinson was employed as a staff nurse at the emergency departments of the John Radcliffe Hospital. Since his arrest he has not worked for and is no longer an employee of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust.

His arrest led to the detection of further offences from images on devices seized from him, including a mobile phone, computer equipment, memory stick and camera.

The victims in the images of sex offences had been unaware that offences were committed against them because they were unconscious at the time the offence took place.

The victims of the voyeurism offences, apart from those who had made reports to police, had been unaware that they were being recorded or filmed.

Thames Valley Police undertook extensive investigative work to identify all the victims of offences in all images, in which it was possible to establish an identity.

All identifiable victims have now been contacted by police to be informed of the offencesagainst them and receive appropriate support.

Senior investigating officer, Det Ch Insp Mark Johns, said: "I am pleased that Hutchinson has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for this string of depraved offences.

"I have no doubt that Hutchinson would have continued to offend had he not been arrested so I am delighted that this prolific offender will now be behind bars for a significant period of his life.

"This has been a particularly complicated, unusual and sensitive case as the victims of his sex offences were not aware that offences took place because they were not conscious.

"I would like to thank the victims for the great courage and dignity they have shown during our investigation. I cannot imagine the distress they have been through since we had to inform them they were a victim.

"I hope the victims feel some sense of justice now Hutchinson has been convicted and sentenced.

"I would again like to reassure members of the public in Oxfordshire that all victims that can be identified from images we obtained from Hutchinson have been contacted by Thames Valley Police. However, should anyone wish to speak to our officers about their concerns, please do contact 101 quoting Operation Bream."

Speaking following the sentencing on Monday, chief crown prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Adrian Foster, said: "This case involved a sustained and prolonged course of sexual offending against a number of girls and women.

"Several of his victims were unconscious and receiving medical care, therefore extremely vulnerable.

"This made these offences even more serious and this has been reflected by today’s sentence.

"Hutchinson abused his position of trust and took advantage of his circumstances to prey on his victims for his own sexual gratification.

"His offending came to light after his arrest on 04 November 2013, on suspicion of voyeurism in the unisex changing rooms at an Abingdon leisure centre.

"Images and films of sex offences being committed, indecent images of children, and upskirt footage taken at the hospital and in public were recovered on devices seized from him.

"The convictions and today’s sentence serve as an important message to people who have been the victim of crimes such as these, or those that know such crimes are being committed, that they should come forward so that the attackers can be brought to justice and others can be saved from the horrific ordeal of abuse.

"The emotional impact on the victims and their families of the abhorrent actions of this man is impossible to quantify.

"I hope that the conviction and sentence gives some small comfort to them.